Supreme Emptiness

He felt a surge of internal conflict.

For the sake of fairness, let's count them.

Would it expose Jiang Fan's actual battle record, subjecting him to being pointed at by thousands and losing face?

Or, manipulate the results secretly?

With Vice Pavilion Master Ye watching, let alone what would happen if he failed.

Even if he succeeded, the disciples present would certainly question it, right?

After all, a person claiming to have slain hundreds of Beast Kings, the number was too exaggerated.

Even Luo Dongcheng, with Core Formation Seventh Layer strength, wouldn't dare to claim to have slain so many Beast Kings in a month.

Let alone Jiang Fan, who just reached the Second Layer of Core Formation.

"Commissioner Luo, hurry and count."

Hearing the constant doubts, Jiang Fan inwardly felt speechless.

He was anxious about these people's intelligence.

Could the bag be filled with rocks?

A few hundred at once?

How could they even think that!

Faking such an impressive record, not to mention these people questioning it.

The present sect elders, Supreme Elders,

even Ye Cangyuan himself would question it.

When faced with a confrontation on the spot, Jiang Fan would be doomed, and Luo Dongcheng as well.

One wouldn't need to think much to know Luo Dongcheng would never help Jiang Fan in such a sure-to-be-exposed fraud!

But Luo Dongcheng, urged to move,

looked troubled as he opened the bag.

He hadn't decided whether to help Jiang Fan cheat yet.

If he didn't cheat, he would offend Jiang Fan and could forget about the thousand-year Spiritual Meat.

Cheating... but with hundreds of Demon Cores, how could that go unnoticed? It would definitely end up in confrontation.

How about reporting a few extra Demon Cores?

Just to make Jiang Fan look a little better, not too disgraceful?

Then after reconsidering, Luo Dongcheng quietly shook his head.

Because it was evident there were much more than a few Demon Cores in the bag.

Reporting too few would still arouse suspicion.

Making it a difficult task!

He opened the bag, feeling heavy-hearted, and immediately heard countless objects clashing and shaking inside.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly.

How many rocks did Jiang Fan actually pack in there?

It seemed like more than just two hundred.

Only, when he looked inside, Luo Dongcheng was stunned.

Various colorful Demon Cores of all sizes, dazzlingly arrayed, came into his view.

Small ones like human eyes.

Big ones like a baby's fist.

The colors were varied, some even indescribably mixed.

These were all Demon Cores!

Purely Beast King-level Demon Cores!

There were even a few late-stage Core Formation Demon Cores among them!

As for the imagined rocks,

not a single one!

Stunned for a long moment, he finally remembered his actual job.

Feeling enormously relieved, he began counting them.

Xue Wanchong couldn't help but chuckle.

"Look, he's seriously counting them now."

"I'd like to see what kind of battle record Jiang Fan can finally have!"

Disciples who harbored resentment against Jiang Fan also sneered.

"Let's wait, if they cheat too blatantly, it'll be easier to catch them!"

"A Green Cloud Sect disciple without Spirit Root, expecting to always outshine us true prodigies?"

"This time on the merit list, he must be exposed!"

...

The atmosphere at the scene grew somewhat peculiar as Luo Dongcheng took more time to count.

The elders and Supreme Elders initially didn't believe Jiang Fan would cheat.

The reason was simple.

Cheating with one or two Demon Cores was no big issue.

But cheating with such a large quantity, it would be like treating everyone present as blind!

Absolutely impossible to get away with!

But, watching Luo Dongcheng taking so long to count,

they also began to whisper.

"Just how many Demon Cores are there?"

"Even two hundred should have been counted by now, right?"

"Could there really be three hundred Demon Cores in there?"

"So many Demon Cores, even we elders couldn't achieve that, could we?"

"Let alone finding so many Beast Kings, just killing them would be quite exhausting."

"After all, these are genuine Beast Kings, not scarecrows that we can cut as we wish."

...

Li Qingfeng, Wen Hongyao, and Zhao Wuji kept stern expressions.

Some elders from Green Cloud Sect who had arrived seemed anxious, asking:

"Elder Li, Jiang Fan won't have any issues, right?"

"If this is cheating, all the accumulated reputation would be ruined."

This time, Jiang Fan had won great honor for Green Cloud Sect,

making Green Cloud Sect stand tall among the Nine-Sect Alliance.

As disciples of Green Cloud Sect, wherever they went, they would receive envious glances from others.

But if Jiang Fan's cheating was exposed,

this honor would collapse instantly.

The human heart is complex,

capable of kindness and generosity, but also of jealousy and pettiness.

Thus, a person who did bad deeds all their life suddenly doing a good deed would evoke goodwill and approval from others.

Conversely, a person who was upright all their life suddenly doing a bad deed would face vilification and censure as if defying natural order.

This, because the human heart is fickle.

So it was with Jiang Fan as well.

He now basked in glory.

He was a top merit achiever, a young hero, and a rising star in the Nine-Sect Alliance.

Yet, if he committed a single misdeed,

this glory would instantly collapse.

Turning him into a public outcast.

Reputation can make a person, but also destroy them.

Jiang Fan was now in an extremely vulnerable position.

Not allowing any blemish on his record.

Li Qingfeng also realized the gravity of the situation.

He took a deep breath and said, "I believe in Jiang Fan's character."

His tone wasn't firm.

Because he, too, felt the number of Demon Cores was incredibly high.

Jian Linyuan was formidable,

the Young Master of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, from a mysterious family with invisible and invincible support behind him.

When he handed over his Demon Cores, it only amounted to a bit over a hundred.

How could Jiang Fan have more than Jian Linyuan?

Upon hearing Li Qingfeng's uncertain tone,

the elders of Green Cloud Sect became more anxious.

Meanwhile, Kong Yuanba, observing the Green Cloud Sect elders' expressions, felt much relieved.

"Jiang Fan is ultimately too young."

"Reputation is truly enjoyable when it's good."

"But if mishandled, the backlash could be fatal."

"The Green Cloud Sect members, no matter how confident they felt recently, their faces will soon turn sullen."

"Hehehe."

Ye Cangyuan clasped his hands behind his back, silent and unspeaking.

But, the initial hint of a smile on his face gradually reverted to sternness.

Showing his current mood wasn't very good.

Even Nangong Xiaoyun, standing beside him, vaguely heard Ye Cangyuan sigh.

She understood that Ye Cangyuan was lamenting Jiang Fan.

A rising star, ruined by an act of cheating,

was truly a pity.

She looked at Jiang Fan, feeling a deep sense of pity as well.

His future was bright, but due to a moment's greed, his reputation was destroyed.

Was it worth it?

Liu Qingxian also felt nervous.

But she didn't let go of Jiang Fan; instead, she held him tighter.

No matter if Jiang Fan would be condemned by everyone,

or if she would be implicated,

having chosen Jiang Fan, she would stay loyal to him.

Not just cheating, even if Jiang Fan ever had to betray the Human Clan one day,

she would follow him without hesitation, standing against all humankind!

In this somewhat oppressive atmosphere,

Luo Dongcheng finally stood up with a sigh of relief.

He stretched his sore back.

"It's all counted," he said.